Pro-Life Coalition Submits Petition Urging Tiller Clinic Probe
A pro-life coalition has submitted a petition with twice the number of signatures required, demanding a grand jury investigation of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas where infamous late-term abortion doctor George Tiller works.
Both the Planned Parenthood chapter in Overland, Kan., and Tiller are facing charges of performing late-term abortions.
The L.I.F.E. Coalition, comprised of Operation Rescue, Concerned Women For America and Women Influencing the Nation, turned in the signatures of 6,400 registered voters in Johnson County, Kansas, calling for an investigation into alleged criminal activity at the Planned Parenthood clinic from 2004 through 2007.
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The filed petition comes a week after Johnson County District Attorney Phil Kline filed 107 charges against the clinic, accusing it of performing illegal late-term abortions.
Hours after pro-life groups submitted the petition, however, the Kansas Supreme Court postponed grand jury proceedings against Tiller that were initiated by a past petition submitted by pro-life group Kansans for Life.
The grand jury, called to investigate Tiller's abortion at his Wichita clinic, was scheduled to begin Tuesday but is now delayed at least until Nov. 16.
The court blocked the grand jury proceedings in response to a counter motion filed by Tiller's attorneys, who said the grand jury amounts to harassment. Two judges have been assigned to respond to Tiller's petition.
Operation Rescue president Troy Newman was angered over the court decision.
"It is unconscionable to deprive the citizens of Kansas the ability to seek justice in this way," Newman told the Kansas City Star.
By denying citizens in Kansas the right to convene a grand jury, the court has "become contributors to the crisis in Kansas that has been caused by what we believe to be an out of control abortion industry that operates as if the laws do not apply to them," added Newman in a released statement.
The L.I.F.E. Coalition, meanwhile, has assured supporters on the petition website that the Tiller ruling will not affect the Planned Parenthood grand jury effort.
According to the group, Kansas law gives the county 60 days to impanel a grand jury and begin the investigation.
While the Kansas/Missouri chapter of Planned Parenthood is being investigated, more than 60 pro-family leaders have signed a letter to senators and representatives asking them to suspend federal funding for national organization.
The letter was signed by a number of leaders from pro-family groups including Concerned Women For America, Focus on the Family, Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Liberty Counsel, American Family Association, Traditional Values Coalition, and Americans United for Life.
"Planned Parenthood operates around 860 facilities around the country, and there are approximately 40 states with laws banning late term abortions," the letter reads. "This illegal conduct may be happening all over the country.
"These are substantive charges levied against Planned Parenthood," the letter continues. "States have passed laws on late-term abortions because they are detrimental to women as well as babies. Women are often not informed that late-term abortions increase the likelihood of severe blood loss, damage to vital organs, later premature births and loss of fertility. We urge you to act to ensure that our tax dollars are not subsidizing abortion clinics that perform possibly illegal late-term abortions."
Under Kansas state law, it is illegal to perform a late-term abortion on a viable unborn baby unless two doctors agree that the abortion is necessary for the well-being of the mother's physical or mental health.
In addition to the the district attorney's charges, Tiller also faces charges filed by Attorney General Paul Morrison for performing 19 illegal late-term abortions. Tiller allegedly did not have a second physician sign off on the abortions and certify they were medically necessary.
